By the end of October, American troop strength in Iraq will be 120,000, a decrease of 23,000 since January, the top United States military spokesman, Brig. Gen. Stephen R. Lanza, said Monday. (New York Times — 13 October, 2009)+ related stories

Although the U.S. government would prefer that the Iraqi elections be held on time, a delay would not affect the schedule of troop withdrawal, the U.S. ambassador to Iraq said Friday. (CNN — 23 hours ago)+ related stories